John Alessio: “I’m looking to put on the best show possible and really open the eyes of the UFC.”

As a fighter who has been competing in Mixed Martial Arts before it was even recognized as a sport, John Alessio (33-14) has seen the highs and lows of MMA from a first-hand perspective. At nineteen, Alessio left his birthplace of Vancouver, B.C. Canada to pursue a career as a professional fighter in the United States and hasn’t looked back since.

With over 40 fights to his name, Alessio has mixed it up with some of the biggest names the welterweight division has to offer. Unfortunately, based on his willingness to take on all-comers, he fought in the UFC three times and turned in losing efforts against Pat Miletich, Diego Sanchez, and Thiago Alves.

Rejuvenated and reborn in a lighter weight class, Alessio spoke to MMATraining.com about his attempt to make an epic return to the Octagon but this time as a lightweight. Before doing so he will have to get past another tough veteran, Ryan Healy (19-9-1), in the main event of the Score Fighting Series 4 taking place this Friday night live from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

“I’m excited, relaxed and ready to go. I definitely have some big goals set for myself but what professional athlete shouldn’t set big goals? I’m very prepared for this fight and trained really hard with this camp, doing three workouts a day and have been really busting my butt,” Alessio stated of the work he’s turned in preparing for Healy.

“I’m looking to put on the best show possible and really open the eyes of the UFC. I want to let them know that I’m ready to make a splash at 155 pounds,” the 32-year old continued, elaborating on his plan.

Grasping the attention of the premier MMA organization in the world will not be an easy task considering Alessio’s opponent is looking to do the same thing. Healy, twin brother of Strikeforce lightweight Pat Healy, is also riding a two-fight winning streak and equally motivated to rip Alessio’s head off. Though “The Natural” realizes the threat Healy poses and acknowledges what he brings to the table, the well-rounded finisher isn’t overly worried about how things will unfold.

“I respect what he brings into this fight, which is resiliency,” said Alessio. “He is very tough, gritty and ready to go three hard rounds so I respect that. I do feel that I am technically better than him all around and have the ability to win this fight wherever it goes but I do respect him, I respect both Healy brothers.”

“I know he’s going to come into this fight prepared because this is a huge opportunity for him,” Alessio explained. “He’s looking to get into the big show as well and we both will be standing in front of each other looking for that win. I just feel that I’m more well-rounded and a little bit faster, stronger and more technical than he is.”

Alessio is 9-1 in his past ten bouts with the lone loss coming to current UFC welterweight Siyar Bahadurzada. The crafty veteran doesn’t understand what is holding the UFC back from calling him up to the big stage but is content with knowing that his time will come, especially with another consecutive victory.

“It’s frustrating and I often wonder why this is happening to me but I just try to remain as patient as possible. I let my fighting do the talking but I love all of the people on Twitter campaigning for me to get back in the UFC and I’m greatly appreciative of all of that but I feel like my time will come,” he revealed. “I just need to turn that frustration into patience and let the timing fall into place. I’m ready for the big show I’ve trained really hard and train with UFC fighters all the time so I’m ready to show it.”

See if Alessio’s commitment and desire pay off by tuning in to the FREE live stream for Score Fighting Series 4 at TheScore.com starting at 7:30 PM EST.